


Night in the Woods

by Kamije_Celeek



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: College Dropout Nikki, Depressed Nikki, F/F, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Mental Illness, Multi, Night In The Woods AU, background dadvid, change, moving forward
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-08-20 16:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16558835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamije_Celeek/pseuds/Kamije_Celeek
Summary: Nikki Morrison returned home after dropping out of college.  Before that, she'd spent two years away from her hometown and her closest friends, and she was excited to return.  However, almost immediately afterwards, things aren't how she remembered them to be.  One of her friends has disappeared.  An old friend is being extremely hostile towards her for no apparent reason.  Places she knew all through her childhood have shut down.  And her parents are keeping some kind of secret from her that's making her worried.Then she and her three closest friends find an arm in front of the diner, and her life is thrown into chaos.  Her sleep is plagued by strange dreams and visions, and it feels like something broke inside her head.  She witnesses something one night, something dangerous, and she realizes that she's the only one in her town who can fix things.Inspired by the game of the same title.





	1. Home Again

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the indie game "Night in the Woods".

_"I get it. This won't stop until I die. But when I die, I want it to hurt. When my friends leave, when I have to let go, when this entire town is wiped off the map, I want it to hurt. Bad. I want to lose. I want to get beaten up. I want to hold on until I'm thrown off and everything ends. And you know what? Until that happens, I want to hope again. And I want it to hurt. Because that means it meant something. I means I am something, at least...pretty amazing to be something, at least..."_

-Mae Borowski,  _Night in the Woods_ Part 4, "The End of Everything: The Hole in the Center of Everything"

* * *

Nikki stepped off the bus and entered the bus station. She'd been the only one to get off the bus and the station was completely empty.

"Well, this is disappointing," she muttered, running a hand through her messy green hair. "I mean, it's not like I expected a party or anything, but I at least expected  _somebody_  to be here." She sighed. "Welcome home, Nikki."

She glanced around and took notice of the new mural. It was of a train and idyllic surroundings, reading 'Welcome to Sleepy Peak!'

"Wow, when did they put  _this_  up? Sleepy Peak has never looked more… falsely advertised."

Nikki noted that the payphone had been ripped off and that the TV was on. There was also a janitor fiddling with the door. He had a long gray mustache and was wearing a plaid jacket over a pair of blue jeans. One of his hands was the drill he was using to fiddle with said door.

"Hey, where is everybody?" she asked.

"It's 10:45. It's closed," he grunted. "Not many folks getting off the last bus to Sleepy Peak these days. Just you."

"Why are the lights on? Why is the TV on?"

"I get spooked when I'm here by my lonesome." He didn't move to let her through.

"Can I… squeeze past you?"

"Nope. Just broke the damn thing."

"How long will it take to fix?"

"Until you grab me a Fiascola from the machine over there."

"…am I paying for this?"

"I always rig it when I'm here after hours."

"Nice. Free as in… free?"

"Free as in no one's here to say otherwise."

He went back to messing with the door. Nikki headed over to the soda machine and glanced at the buttons.

"They have  _Lime Fiasco_  and he wants a Fiascola? That's just a waste." She shook her head in disappointment. In one quick movement, she jabbed the button for Fiascola and grabbed the can from the machine. She then headed back over to the old man.

"You got my drink?"

"Yeah. Here. One Free-Ass-Cola." She handed him the can and he drilled a hole in the bottom, drinking it that way.

"Yummers." He didn't move.

"So when do you think that door's going to be fixed?"

"…now. Goodbye." He walked out the door and the lights and TV immediately shut off. Nikki was alone in the dark and empty bus station, and she realized just how spooky it was. She hurried outside, the door locking shut behind her.

"Here I am, at the bus station, Mom and Dad nowhere to be found. Guess I'm walking. Alone."

She began walking towards the woods, listening to the sound of the distant train. She'd missed it at school, remembering how it had lulled her to sleep in the winter when the leaves were down. It was familiar, comforting. The bus station was the newest thing in town, since Sleepy Peak had gotten state funding or something, and it made a nice first or last impression when arriving in or leaving Sleepy Peak. If it weren't for the abandoned glass factory in the background they wouldn't be getting rid of anytime soon.

"The woods," she mumbled. "Through the woods is home. My bed. And my negligent parents."

Nikki began to climb down into the ravine that led up to Sawmill Park. There wasn't much there, just some dank nature and garbage. She could see where the old logging road had been, since it was evident they'd lost a log load at some point. Taking a deep breath, she began to climb the rickety logs that blocked her path before they dislodged, sending her flying backwards as they slipped further into the ravine and made an actually decent path to climb.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "That was dangerous. I could've died. That was  _amazing_!" Nikki was silent for a moment. "I am  _not_  going to die in this hole."

Carefully, she climbed the convenient path that had been made by the fallen logs and made her way into Sawmill Park. She could remember playing there as a kid, back when things had been much different and it had just been her and her mom. The 'boat castle', as she'd called it, had fallen into disrepair. Nobody had been up there in a while, it seemed, and it was just a thing for animals to eat and have babies in.

Her magenta gaze landed on the towering fence that blocked her from getting into town. Fortunately, she was good at climbing and managed to get a good grip on the chain-link. She got to the top and began to climb down, but the fence swayed from her weight and she released her grip. As a result, she tumbled to the ground, where a flashlight shone in her face.

"Hello, Nikki. Been a while."

She looked up to see her aunt Molly—Aunt Mall Cop, as Nikki affectionately called her. Molly was a solidly-built woman with pale green hair that she kept in a tight bun on the back of her head. She was also wearing her police uniform, her gun visible on one hip. Her police cruiser was parked a few feet behind her, the engine still idling.

"Hey. What are you doing out here?"

"I was doing my rounds when I saw you in the very off-limits playground."

"Oh."

"Get in the car, Nikki."

"No."

"You wanna spend your first night back in jail, Nikki?"

"…no."

Nikki got into the back of Molly's cruiser and her aunt drove her to the house she'd grown up in. The lights in the living room were on, signaling that  _somebody_  was still up. The former college student got out of the car and used her key to open the door. Her dad, William, was sitting on the living room couch, watching some talk show.

"Hi. Remember me?" Nikki asked, startling her father.

"AGH! Nikki, you gave me a heart attack!" he yelped.

"Good!" She spread her arms in frustration.

"What are you doing—oh. Oops. Nikki, we thought you were coming home  _tomorrow_  night."

"Well, you thought wrong."

"How did you get here?"

"I walked until I got arrested by Aunt Mall Cop, who drove me here."

"Did you say hi to Molly for me?"

"No. I say hi for no one. I'm going up to bed. Is my bed still here, or are we waiting for tomorrow night for that, too?"

"Ah, Nikki. So good to hear that voice again. Again, I'm sorry we messed up."

"Good night."

"Night."

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the window of Nikki's attic bedroom. She yawned and stretched before getting dressed and heading downstairs, where she found her mother in the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom," she greeted Candy.

"Hiya, sugar. Welcome home."

"Thanks for not changing the locks."

"Look, honey, I'm sorry we mixed up the night you were coming back. It was just such short notice."

"It's fine. I'm home now."

"…honey, did something happen?"

"Nothing happened. I just… needed to come home."

"Well, I think you can understand my concern. That's not just something a college sophomore up and does."

"I know… hey, have you seen Max around?"

"He works down at the Snack Falcon in Towne Centre."

"We have a Snack Falcon now?"

"Oh, yeah. It's so handy! Ever since the Food Donkey went out."

"The Food Donkey's gone?!" Nikki felt a sense of shock.

"Going on almost a year now."

"Where does everyone shop?"

"They all go out to the Ham Panther out by the highway, but I see your little friend Max when I go into town."

"Wow… so much has changed."

"It's a whole new world, sweetie!"

"In that case, I'm going to explore. See you, Mom!"

"See you, Nicolette!"

Nikki headed out into the neighborhood. Fall was definitely in the air; leaves were falling and neighbors were raking them up. She slid past Mr. Twigmeyer, who questioned why she wasn't still at school, and up towards Main Street. Nerris Buchanan waved hello from her porch and Nikki saw David Greene (Max's adoptive father) standing on his.

"Nikki?!" he gasped, leaping down the steps.

"Hey, David," she greeted him before he grabbed her in one of his typical bone-crushing hugs.

"Oh, you're home! How long are you going to be back?"

"I'm home for good. College… just wasn't for me."

"I'm sure Max will be excited to see you. He's working full-time now, down at the Snack Falcon."

"I heard. I'm actually heading over there to see him."

"Be sure to come by my roof later this week. I bought a new telescope."

"I will. Bye, David!"

She ran down the street and spotted the Snack Falcon. There wasn't anybody inside but a familiar curly-haired Indian boy with bright green eyes. He had a bored expression, from what she could see, and he couldn't see her from where he was. Nikki entered through the automatic doors, and he looked up at the sound of the little bell.

"Holy shit— _Nikki_?!" He sat up straight.

"Hey, Max."

"What the fuck? I thought you left!"

"I did, but now I'm back."

"Back as in today?"

"Back as in  _back_."

"Too bad you didn't die at college." She smirked.

"Too bad you didn't catch a flesh-eating disease."

"Too bad you didn't join a murder-cult."

"Too bad you didn't lose all your limbs in a freak soda machine accident."

"God, it's good to see you. Hold on a sec." He slid off the stool and over to the CD player.

"What are you doing?"

"Changing the music!" A jazzy-sounding song began to play throughout the store and Max came out from behind the counter.

"So…?"

"So, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I live here!"

"Since when?"

"Since last night, eleven or so?"

"Oh, it's so great that you're back. I've been losing my fucking  _mind_  without you around."

"It's great to  _be_  back. So much has changed…"

"Come to band practice."

"Oh my God, the  _band_  is still a thing?"

"Yep. Neil and I have kept it going."

"When's practice?"

"Now."

"When do you get off work?"

"Now!" He dashed back behind the counter and grabbed a time-card, punching out for the night before running out the door. Nikki ran after him, all the way to the former Party Barn. There, she could see Neil setting up his microphone.

"Neil!" she greeted her.

"Oh my God! You're  _actually_  back!" he gasped, standing up.

"She's back for good!" Max stated, punching his nerdier friend in the arm before turning back to Nikki. "I have your old drum kit. Most of it's set up, but I need to grab the cymbals and sticks from the back. You  _have_  to play with us."

"Oh, dude, I don't even think I remember…" she murmured as he ran into the back. The door opened and a girl Nikki hadn't spoken to in a very long time walked through.

"Nikki, you know Erin, right?" Neil asked her.

"Oh, yeah. Hi."

"Hi," Erin greeted her curtly.

"You here for band practice?"

"I play bass."

"That's not bass. That's computer."

"It's fine," Nerris told her. "He also does your drum parts."

"Well, I  _understood_  them as the drum parts, but I can turn them off."

" 'Turn them off', on your computer." Max set the suspended cymbal and sticks on the kit.

"We're gonna play a song. You  _have_  to play drums," he told her.

"This is so weird…"

She got up behind her drums and tapped them experimentally. Max had evidently kept her kit in pristine condition, tuning and all. It was as if she'd just played them the day before, rather than two years ago.

_Two years since I last lived here…_

* * *

"Pizza!"

Neil laughed as Nikki threw her arms in the air. The waitress brought them the pizza their party of four had ordered, divided into eight slices. Each of them took a slice, feeling a flurry of emotions at Nikki's homecoming.

"You miss pizza, Nik?"

"Max, they have pizza at school!"

"Yeah, but not  _diner_  pizza."

"Diner pizza's horrible," Neil snorted. "It's no Pastabilities."

"Neil, according to the pizza scale, there is no such thing as horrible pizza," Nikki told him sternly.

"I told you, that's not a thing."

"Everything above the worst pizza is pretty damn good. There's no such thing as horrible pizza unless it's burnt. Nobody wants to eat that shit. But screw it—pizza good."

"The diner has charm," Erin pointed out.

"Anyway, when are we going to play out?"

"We don't 'play out', Nikki. We have jobs."

"All of you?"

"I work at the book-and-video store," Neil informed her, nodding.

"I'm at the Snack Falcon," Max added.

"And I'm working at the Ol' Pickaxe," Erin finished.

"Isn't that your dad's store?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Uh… nothing." She cleared her throat, something suddenly occurring to her. "Where's Ered"

"Oh, you wouldn't know, would you?" Neil inquired. "Ered's… gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"Hopped a train, I bet," Max sighed.

"Oh, wow. She always talked about doing that."

"Yeah, one day she was just… gone. Made a clean break; hasn't emailed or anything."

"Her dads put up missing posters, but everyone knew what happened," Neil finished.

"Well, we'd better be getting home," Neil broke in. The others nodded and stood up, Max picking up the check. All four of the twenty-somethings exited the diner onto the sidewalk, the crisp fall air hitting their faces.

"It's great to be home," Nikki chirped once they were outside.

"We can hang out again, just like we used to," Max agreed. "It's boring without you."

"Oh my God!" Neil gasped.

"Holy crap!" Erin whispered sharply

"What's wrong?" Nikki asked, worried.

"Is… is that an arm?"

"That's an arm," Neil agreed.

"Nobody move," Max instructed, holding up his arms. "Let's poke it with a stick."

"I call first!" Nikki grabbed a stick out of the bushes and crouched by the dismembered limb.

"Nikki, I'm pretty sure this is tampering with evidence," Erin stated.

"Shush. I wanna watch this," Max told her.

"You don't need your ears to watch."

"SHUSH!"

Nikki poked at the arm, moving the sleeve of the army jacket to reveal… a tattoo?

"Is… is that some kind of mark?" she asked her three friends.

"I think it's a tattoo," Neil replied.

"Definitely a tattoo," Max confirmed.

"Now, what's going on here?"

"Uh-oh!"

They all looked to see Molly standing there, arms crossed.

"Hi, Aunt Mall Cop!" Nikki greeted her aunt. "We found an arm!"

"I can see that. Now, I don't want any of you walking home alone tonight. Something bad's going on."

"I can drive Nikki home, officer," offered Erin.

"Thank you, Erin."

"Neil lives with me and David, so we'll just walk," Max informed the officer.

"Good." Molly began speaking into her walkie-talkie.

* * *

Riding in the car with Erin was awkward as hell. Nikki shifted uncomfortably in the seat and glanced at the blue-haired girl.

"So, working at the Ol' Pickaxe, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Are they training you to take over the family business?"

"Who?"

"Your parents?" Erin stopped the car.

"We're here."

"Um, actually, my house isn't for a few more blocks."

"Get out."

"Okay."

Nikki got out of the car and watched Erin speed off. She sighed and began walking towards the house, where her dad was watching that same talk show from the night before on the couch.

"Have a good day, Nickname?" he asked her.

"I hung out with Max and Neil and Erin for a little bit. Then we found an arm on the sidewalk."

"An  _arm_?!"

"Aunt Mall Cop showed up and everything. I poked it with a stick."

"Okay, Nikki,  _please_  don't go poking dismembered limbs with sticks. I never thought I'd have to tell you that, but here I am." He cleared his throat. "How were your friends?"

"Apparently, Neil's living with Max and David now, and both of them have jobs? And they're hanging out with Erin. Max  _hated_  Erin in high school."

"Well, people change, sweetheart. And it's not always a bad thing. If it helps you make a few new friends, then welcome the change."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Didn't  _you_  used to be friends with Erin first?"

"That was before Max came. And Erin started hanging out with those mean girls… it was a mess." She shook her head. "I'm going up to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Nickname."

Nikki headed up to her room and pulled off her boots, settling into bed for the night. Tomorrow would be better.


	2. The Party

Nikki finished pulling on her T-shirt and glanced at her laptop.

"It's literally been 36 hours since I've been online," she stated. "This shall not stand!"

She opened the lid and logged on—only to be smacked in the face with 'hot chat' and 'singles in your area' pop-ups. She tried to close them out, but more popped up. Nikki let out a frustrated groan as her screen glitched.

"Agh! No! What is  _wrong_  with you?! I bet Neil could fix this… he's all computery. But I can't let him see…  _this_." She tapped her chin. "Where does he work again?"

Abandoning her laptop on the bed, she ran downstairs, greeting her mom with a brief hello before running out the door. She ran smack into her neighbor, Mr. Campbell.

"Hey, you, kid!" he greeted her.

"Adult," she replied.

"So, you're back, eh?"

"Yes, Mr. Campbell."

"Didn't last long, eh?"

"No, Mr. Campbell."

"You get a job yet?"

"I've only been back for, like, twenty-four hours."

"Soon it'll be 'only a week', then a month, then your whole life!"

"You're right. I have so much time left."

"Nobody's forgotten who you are and what you did, you know. They may act like they have, but that's just small-town polite right there."

"Is that what this is?"

"Small-town polite's all you got, kid, so watch it."

"Well, that was really interesting, but I have to go listen to my cells die."

"Bah!"

"Pah!"

Nikki started walking towards town. She'd have to ask Max where Neil worked, since she couldn't remember for the life of her. She passed most of the same people she had the day before on her walk, until she reached the benches by the war memorial. There, a girl she recognized as a high-schooler was sitting there.

"Hey, Killer," the girl greeted her.

"Ugh, people are still talking about that?"

"I was in middle school when it happened. People were scared, since they didn't know if you were going to do it again. Our mothers told us not to talk to you."

"Well, tell your mother I said 'hi'. She sounds lovely."

"Oh, she's gone."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"Who are you, anyway?"

"Mercy."

"Nice to meet you, Mercy. I'll see you around."

"Bye."

Nikki continued into the Snack Falcon, where Max was sitting in the same spot as the day before. He brightened immediately upon seeing her.

"Thank God you're here. This job is so fucking  _boring_."

"I wish I could hang out, but I need to find Neil. Have you seen him?"

"He's at work, too."

"Yeah, but  _where_  does he work?"

"At the Ink and Film down the street. Why do you need him?"

"Computer problems." She refused to look him in the eye and he nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, he's helped me with those kind of problems before. See you later, if I don't kill myself to stop my boredom…"

"Please don't. I need my Maxie-Pad." He groaned and banged his head on the table as she snickered.

"I hate that nickname."

"That's what you get for making fun of me when I got my period."

"We were  _ten_. I barely knew what that  _meant_."

"It means my body is punishing me for not being pregnant. See you later."

"Bye."

She jogged down the street and into the Ink and Film—Sleepy Peak's premiere book-and-video store. It had once been an electronics shop, but then Lester had retired and passed it onto his grandkids. And Neil wasn't inside. Instead, there was a girl chewing gum and looking just as bored as Max.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Neil?"

"Oh, he works day-shift."

"It  _is_  day."

"I got here early. He should be home now."

"Okay, well thank you."

Nikki left the store and headed to where she remembered Max and David lived. She knocked on the door and David opened up.

"Hello, Nikki. I'm afraid the telescope's not quite set up yet, if that's what you're here for. And Max is still at work."

"I'm here to see Neil."

"He's right upstairs. Second door on the left."

"Thanks, David. And I'll be sure to stop by to check out that telescope."

As she walked up the stairs, she noticed the pictures lining the walls. Some, like the picture from the day Max's adoption had gone through, were familiar. Others were new, like the picture of her, Max, Neil, and Ered on the day of their high-school graduation. It made her heart twist a little.

_That was only two years ago… and now Ered's gone. Max and Neil both have jobs. And I'm a college dropout without anything going for me._

"Neil?" she called through the door.

"Nikki?" he replied, opening it up. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm having computer problems and I was hoping you could help." He glanced down at her empty hands.

"I'm going to guess that you have the same virus Max gets at least once every six months. Come on." She followed him into the room. The walls were lined with posters of famous scientists, like Marie Curie and Einstein. His poster of Edison that she remembered was gone, though.

"Where's your Edison poster?" He was rummaging through his desk drawers.

"Stolen and shredded by Rosemary Campbell."

"When the hell was Rosemary Campbell in your room?"

"We have the same online college courses, so she pops in to study with me sometimes. And the first time she came over, she saw the poster and ripped it down."

"Why?"

"She hates Thomas Edison. Said he was a thief and a liar. To make up for it, she bought me that one." He tapped a poster of a man with a mustache surrounded by electrified coils. "Nikola Tesla. A man who was a self-made inventor."

"That was nice of her."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't want a picture of somebody who electrocuted an elephant and got it on film just to discredit somebody else on my wall." He held up a USB drive. "Got it! Just plug this in and it should take care of all your issues."

"Thanks." She accepted the drive and headed back towards home, where she did just as Neil had instructed and restarted her computer. It worked perfectly, all pop-ups gone!

And there were speech bubbles by the icons of her two best friends. She chose to click Neil's first—a pair of Tesla coils with Tesla controlling electricity between them.

_So, did my little fail-safe work?_

_**Computer is working good as new.** _

_I put our old favorite game on it._

_Remember Demon's Blade?_

_**Oh, yeah, I do!** _

_**I don't think I've played that in forever!** _

_They've been updating it._

_Just grab your old save file from their server and pick up where you left off._

_**I'll keep that in mind! : )** _

_Great. See you tomorrow._

_**Bye** _

She clicked Max's icon—a picture of him flipping off the camera with his arm slung around her. The picture had been taken the day before she'd left for college, when David had insisted on getting a picture of the two of them together.

_Hey, you get that porn off your computer yet?_

_I heard you broke it with too much porn._

_**Neil told me you do the same thing so don't go porn-shaming me.** _

_Who's porn-shaming? I'm not._

_**: P** _

_You know, you shouldn't stick out that tongue if you don't know how to use it._

_**Who says I don't?** _

_**I was at college for two years.** _

There was no response for a minute and she got worried.

_**Max? You alive?** _

_**Shit. I think I broke your brain.** _

_No, you didn't. I just got this image in my head and_

_Never mind._

_**I was joking.** _

_**I didn't actually get with anybody at college.** _

_**Wait, what kind of image did you get?** _

_I said never mind, bitch._

_**Okay, yeah, I think I know now.** _

_You know, Nurf told me that they used to hide porn in a hollow log out in the woods._

_Be awkward if you were hiking out to the porn_

_And some guy was already there._

_**They'd be best friends, bonding over their love of porn.** _

_**Like we do.** _

_Uh, no._

_We bond over pranks, fake flirting, and this shithole town._

_Not porn. I don't ever want to watch porn with you._

_**Same here.** _

_Hey, there's a party tomorrow night up at Lake Lilac. A bunch of people home from college and stuff for the weekend._

_You should ask Erin to drive us up._

_**What? No. I don't think she likes me.** _

_C'mon. Party. Drinks. A chance to make fun of stupid-drunk people._

_Just like high school._

_And Erin's cool. She drives us around a lot._

_**Fine. I'll ask.** _

_Sweet._

_**And we're going with the typical system?** _

_Yeah, yeah._

_Guy gets too handsy with you, I run over and pretend to be your boyfriend._

_Not rocket science, Nik._

_**That's Neil's field, anyway.** _

_Which Neil?_

_**The Neil that wore a fishbowl on his head until middle school.** _

_**He was in the aerospace program at the same college I was at.** _

_Ah. True rocket science._

_Don't forget to ask Erin at the Ol' Pickaxe._

_**I won't. See you tomorrow, asshole.** _

_See you, bitch._

* * *

Candy was sitting in the kitchen and reading a book when Nikki came downstairs. Nikki hopped up on the counter and looked at her mother with a sigh.

"Morning, Mom."

"All-day mom. Every day mom."

"Oh, God. In some houses, they have dad jokes. In our house, we have mom jokes."

"We have both, sweetie. What are your plans today?"

"Might go to a party later with Max and Neil and Erin."

"Look at you! Back two days and already the social butterfly!"

"Yeah, I'm in pretty high demand."

"Looks like most of the repair workers have cleared out of Towne Centre."

"Good."

"I do  _not_  want you up on the powerlines."

"Mom, I'm twenty!"

"Uh-huh, which means you go to jail for it."

"They'd  _never_  catch me."

"Your aunt Molly catches you up there, there's no telling what she'll do."

"Well, I'm going to head out." Nikki hopped down off the counter.

"Have a good day, Nicolette."

"See you around, 24/7 Mom."

Nikki was beginning to realize that she was going to see the same thing every single day when she walked towards Towne Centre. Nerris was sitting on her porch. Neighbors she couldn't remember the names of were out in their yards. But today, the biggest difference (besides the workers being cleared out) was that David was up on his roof.

"He's going to break his damn neck," commented Gwen Sanchez, one of her former guidance counselors.

"You know you can't stop him from doing this stuff!" Nikki snorted.

"God knows Max and I have tried."

"God's the only one who can help him if he falls."

"I can hear you!" David called from the roof.

"How do I get up there, anyway?"

"David climbed through the bedroom window, but I know  _you_  can get up there with the powerlines."

"You're saying I should?"

"Hey, Molly's nowhere near here, and Sal's out dealing with Nurf again. No cops, anything's legal. Besides, you've been doing it since you were a kid. You haven't fried yet."

"Okay. I'll go up there later, after I go see Erin."

"See you."

Nikki passed the church and found the Ol' Pickaxe, where Erin was sitting behind the counter. She had a cigarette in her hand as she talked to one of the employees.

"Yeah, Bill. Write it up as on the clock."

"She's not gonna like that," Bill warned the blue-haired girl.

"I don't care if she doesn't like it. It was her fault, plain and simple. That is time extra; we charge for that."

Bill muttered to himself as he headed into the back. Nikki grimaced; Erin was in business mode and not in the mood to be messed with.

"H-hi, Erin," she greeted her old friend.

"Hi. What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask if you would drive me, Max, and Neil up to the party at Lake Lilac this weekend."

"Thanks for clarifying. Otherwise, I might've been confused as to which of the  _dozens_  of parties going down on a given night in Sleepy Peak you were referring to."

"Does that mean you won't do it?" Erin took a drag from her cigarette, then sighed.

"I'll drive."

"Thank God!"

"We'll be by your house at eight to pick you up. Be ready or we're going without you."

"Okay."

"No, seriously, go home and get ready."

"Fine. See you later, then!"

"Bye."

Nikki exited the store and began walking towards home. David was still up on his roof, but she decided to save that for another day and get ready to go to the party. Upon entering the house, she discovered both her parents home and in the kitchen—a rare occurrence given their respective work schedules.

"Hi, sweetie," Candy greeted her. "You ready for dinner?"

"Sure. What are we having?"

"I made tacos."

"Excuse me,  _we_  made tacos," William corrected good-naturedly.

"Tacos?" Nikki repeated.

"Tacos!" Candy affirmed.

"The family that tacos together rockos together," William stated jokingly. He was met with deadpan stares from his wife and daughter.

"Honey, no."

"I am so angry right now."

"You've all turn against me!" he protested in a good-natured manner.

"Do you want sour cream on your taco, Nicolette?"

"I. Want. EVERYTHING."

Once dinner was finished, Nikki headed up to her room and stretched before checking her watch. It was 7:50.

"Okay, okay. Time to get ready for the party. Better make sure I don't look like a cave beast." She looked in the mirror.

She was short, about 5'5", with curly, pale green hair that went down past her shoulder blades. Her eyes were her other most striking feature—a bright magenta color she'd inherited from her mother. As for her clothes, she wore a bright yellow shirt with a 'no' symbol on it and a pair of blue jeans. Her shoes were a pair of black hiking boots, perfect for running around in.

"Looking good."

_I look horrible. I have a nightmare face._

"I can do this. I'm a smoothie."

_You shouldn't be around people._

"Hi, I'm Nikki. It's nice to meet you!"

_That sounds normal._

"Really? That's fascinating!"

_Good…_

"That is so true. Well, see you later."

_Good. You sound normal. Nobody can prove you're not normal._

"Yeah, I'm normal. Besides, everyone looks normal in the dark. I'm pretty sure that's the only way sex works."

_This is a mess…_

"I'm a mess. Wheel me out to the curb for garbage day."

A horn honked outside.

"Oh, they're here!"

_Good luck, kid._

"I don't need luck. I make my own luck. With a luck machine."

* * *

"Ugh."

Nikki wiped some beer droplets off her chin.

"I hate beer. Can't remember the last time I drank beer."

She looked around at the spot they were in. A bonfire was raging in the center of everything, with several people holding cups of beer and chatting. One guy was sitting on a log and playing guitar. Erin was talking to some guy who looked like an artsy type, while Max and Neil were kind of watching the goings-on from a corner. She chose to go to them first.

"Party's kind of… lame," she told her two friends.

"Yeah. It's just a 'look at where we've gone' kind of thing," Neil replied. "Not really a 'party and get drunk' kind of thing."

"And can you  _believe_  this douchebag with a guitar?" asked Max.

"Back at college, there'd always be some frat guy sitting under a tree with a guitar, trying to look all 'sensitive'," Nikki agreed. "For some reason, they'd think girls were into that. And a lot of girls are, but a lot of them just  _aren't_."

"I like this song. Is this a douchebag song?" Neil inquired.

"Don't worry about it. I'm gonna talk to Erin."

"Watch out for Jason." Nikki felt a chill go up her spine at the name.

"You gonna talk to him?" Max lowered his voice. He was  _not_  Jason's biggest fan.

"Maybe. Keep an eye out for me."

She ended up drinking two more cups of beer before she started to feel it. The drunkenness that usually accompanied her going out to a party with her friends. And in her inebriated state, she was more likely to make stupid or rash decisions. Hence why she was now wandering up to Erin while stumbling a bit.

"Hi, Erin!" she greeted her.

"What? Oh, God, you're drunk."

"You're kinda grouchy, you know that?"

"Nikki, you need to go sit by the fire and chill."

"I'M GONNA RUN AROUND NAKED IN THE WOOODS!"

"Go. Sit. Now."

"Fine." Nikki stumbled over to an empty tree stump, where she sat down and was approached by a familiar face.

"Hey, Nikki." It was fucking Jason.

"H-hey, Jay-Jay!"

"Wow, I don't think anybody's called me that in a long time. How are you?"

"Shut up already."

"What?"

"And iz not my fault I'm a total trashfire!" She stood up on the stump, getting the attention of everyone there. "I got  _nightmare eyes_ , and the last thing you see is my eyes outside the window, and then I stab you with my knife! Stab, stab, stab! BOOM. Dead."

"Uh-oh," muttered Max.

"When the police get there, you're al S."

"New nickname!" Neil called unhelpfully.

"So don't eff with me, kid!" she snapped to Jason. He bit his lip.

"Okay, Nikki, you're threatening people now," Erin warned, taking her cigarette out of her mouth.

"I am gonna get in shape and kick all asses! I'm gonna eat everyone I see!"

"Nikki, I think you need to—"

"EFF COLLEGE!"

"Yeah!" Max agreed.

"All those rich kids writing sex and having papers with each other—and that  _damn statue_ , pointing at me every damn day. Supposed to be the  _founder_  but it's just shapes."

"Nikki…" Erin was starting to worry more now.

"I… I'm a total trash mammal! And nothing is ever going to work out!" She was calming down and tears were forming in her eyes. "We never had a chance here, but I can't go anywhere else. I'm home again, and I can do something besides sleep. And cry alone." She burped a bit, then continued. "Because things aren't just  _things_  here, you know?"

"I'm getting her out of there," Erin whispered to Neil.

"Oh,  _God_ , I'm so sick to  _death_. Does that make sense, Jay-Jay?"

"Nikki… I didn't mean to upset you. I've always thought you were—"

"Home again!" Nikki threw her arms out, then gagged before throwing up all over the ground. "Aw, man… tacos."

"That's it." Erin made her way over and pulled Nikki off the stump. "I'm taking you home."

"Nik, I'm sorry," Max mumbled, realizing he hadn't covered her ass like he'd promised.

* * *

In Erin's car, Nikki still felt terrible.

"If you puke in this car, so help me…" grumbled Erin.

"Remember when we uzta be best friends?"

"No, I don't."

"I called you Rin-Rin, and you called me Nik-Nak?"

"Oh, you mean when we were like, ten? No, I don't."

"Remember when we were in scouts together and we caught that turtle?"

"Yeah, Boxy the turtle. He died."

"Whyoo so madatme all the time?" She hiccupped. "Aw, man, if I puke in here, your parents are gonna kill me. Tell your mom I'm sorry, okay? She's so nice." Erin lost her patience.

"Goddammit, Nikki!"

"What?"

"My mother is dead."

"WHAT?!"

"She  _died_. Of cancer. Senior year."

"Oh no! She was so  _nice_!"

"How did you not know this? Did you forget about my dead mom?"

"I'm sorry, Erin. I'm acting lika jerk."

"What happened to you?! You used to be smart! You used to be cool! You used to be worth talking to!"

Nikki let out a sniff.

"Oh, did college not work out for you?! Was it  _inconvenient_? Were you  _not in the mood_?"

Nikki sniffed again.

"I would've killed for that. I still would. I'd kick you out of this moving car right now if it meant I could go to college."

Nikki started sobbing as the car halted.

"We're here. Get the hell out of my car."

Nikki sobbed harder and Erin felt her hard exterior melt.

"Oh, God, let me help you in." Erin helped Nikki up the stairs to her room, where the green-haired girl collapsed onto her bed.

"I'm sorry, Erin, I'm a mess," Nikki mumbled.

"Yeah, well, you're just a kid."

"I'm older than you. Two months!"

"I stayed here and got older and you went off and stayed the same." Erin looked at one of her oldest friends, collapsed in bed and already asleep, and suddenly she realized that college really hadn't been for Nikki. It would've been torture for her to stay when she was miserable there.

And it wasn't Nikki's fault she hadn't been able to go to college.

"Good night, Nik-Nak."


	3. House Call

_She was holding a bat in her hands—she knew that for sure. The whole world around her was dark and she could hear whispers just out of the range of her ability to understand them. Before her, there were cars and she could see a town sign—a sign for Durkillesburg, the town where she'd, until recently, attended college._

_She ran forward, hitting the car windows with a bat and shattering as many as she could. Tires popped and the cars sank to the ground as she jumped up to the neon sign that flashed above. Quickly, she smashed the D, U, R, S, B, U, and G in the sign. Now, it flashed KILLER._

_Her nickname._

_The name that she'd carried all through high school and that younger kids obviously saw as her badge of honor. They thought she was insane and strong._

_She made her way up a nearby hill, smacking trashcans and busting lampposts as she went. At the top, she found the statue of the college's founder—an abstract creation made up of shapes that seemed to just be shapes._

_Fury filled her. The statue was pointing right at her, just like it had every goddamn day at college. And she took her bat to the legs. The metal creaked as first the pointing finger fell, followed by the body, and finally, the head. It crashed to the ground with a great ruckus, the vibrations sending her sprawling._

_The world around her became blurry…_

As her dream faded, Nikki sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes from the sudden sunlight that streamed into them. She proceeded to her normal routine—getting dressed, pulling on her boots, and going downstairs to talk to her mother.

"Morning, Mom."

"Hey, hon. You look like crap."

"Thanks. I feel like it, too."

"Also, it's four PM, sweetie."

"I know."

"So, what are your plans for today?"

"Dunno. I'm gonna see what Neil, Max, and Erin are up to, I guess."

"You know, I always liked Erin as your best friend. Such a nice and responsible girl, always working hard to be the best at whatever she did…"

"Yeah, well, I'll talk to her first. Thanks, Mom."

"Bye, sweetie. Have a good day!"

No neighbors were outside for her to talk to that day, so she just jogged along until she spotted David on his roof again. Given that she'd blown him off for the sake of a party the day before, she decided to climb the powerlines and made it up to where the telescope was. David gave her a smile as she landed next to him.

"Ready to look at those dusk stars?" he asked.

"Sure. What's a dusk star?"

"They're special stars that only come out when the sun is just barely set, like now. I put a filter and a sensor on my telescope to see them better, and each one has a story behind it. Go ahead and look."

Nikki peered through the telescope and carefully moved it around until the sensor started going crazy. David took a glance and nodded, approving of her quick discovery.

"That's Aurelia and Fabius, the Lovers," he explained. "A rare  _double_  dusk star."

"So why is it called 'the Lovers'?"

"Well, according to the legend, they lived in the Roman empire. Aurelia was the beautiful and hot-headed daughter of a nobleman and Fabius was a slave within her father's house. They fell in love when they were in their early teens and planned to run away together so that Aurelia wouldn't have to marry Claudius—a man her father chose for her to marry. But… they were found out."

"Her dad didn't take it well."

"No. In fact, he had poor Fabius thrown in the Colosseum to be put in a gladiator fight. Aurelia was brought to the arena on the day of his fight and forced to watch as he was stabbed to death by a gladiator much bigger and more experienced. A few weeks later, after being forced to marry Claudius and receiving the sword that had killed her love as a wedding present, Aurelia killed herself on the same sword."

"That's  _hard-core_."

"It is. The double dusk star was put in the sky to commemorate their love, and to unite them forever in the afterlife."

Nikki began moving the telescope again, resting on a second dusk star. David nodded in approval and gave it a look.

"Ooh, this one's a good one! Piper, the rebel leader."

"Rebel leader sounds good."

"She was actually the true ruler of the kingdom she was rebelling against, taken from the palace as a baby to protect her from the coup that killed her parents. Piper became leader of the rebellion when she was sixteen to try and take back what she had lost. In fact, the person on the throne was her uncle Gregory, and she led a final charge to kill him."

"Did she?"

"No. It turned out that Gregory had wanted her to take her rightful place, and it had been his wife, Anne, who ordered the coup in the first place. Anne ended up killing Gregory, but Piper killed her aunt in retribution. In the end, Piper ruled her kingdom for many years and it didn't fall again for five hundred years."

"Wow."

"That's all we're going to be able to see for now. Come back some other time and I'll show you more."

Nikki nodded and headed back down to the street, where she made her way towards the Ol' Pickaxe. Erin was once again standing behind the counter, checking some paperwork and smoking a cigarette. The green-haired girl cleared her throat and got her old friend's attention. Erin set down the paperwork and looked at Nikki.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened last night. I shouldn't have drank so much, and it wasn't fair to you. I didn't say anything weird, did I?"

"No."

"Well, anyway, I want to be your friend again. Let's hang out tonight—do something together!"

"I'd love to, but I have something I need to do. A work call."

"I can totally come and help you!"

"Really? It's just going out to some lady's house and fixing her furnace. It's going to be boring."

"Please? I want to go."

"Sure. It could give you some work experience that you could use farther down the line."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Let's get going."

* * *

"Wow, she really lives a long way out, doesn't she?"

"They converted a bunch of old hunting cabins into houses back here. It's far away from nosy neighbors and the hustle and bustle of Town Centre." Her pace was much faster than Nikki's, which wasn't helped by the fact that Nikki had stopped at the end of the driveway to stare at some lawn décor.

"Check out this thing by the end of the driveway!"

"She's an old lady; she's got a lot of weird shit in her yard." Erin took a drag from her cigarette as she waited for Nikki to catch up.

"It's like a windmill!" Nikki was panting now.

"Okay, now remember—let  _me_  do the talking."

"Yes, ma'am!" Nikki saluted and Erin let out a sigh as they approached the door. She knocked and it opened to reveal a woman in her seventies  _at the youngest_.

"Oh, hello, Erin!" she said in a voice cracked with age. "Thank you for coming out here on such short notice!"

"Hello, Mrs. Miranda."

"Come in, come in!" The two girls followed her into the house, Erin putting out her cigarette before going inside and placing the butt into the wastebasket. "Right this way! I'm telling you, I could sleep through a tornado, but that damn furnace—I can't take the rattling! Oh, it's been even harder since they took Gene."

"Wait for it," whispered Erin to Nikki.

"Wait for what?"

"I'll never forgive them for taking him away. I read it online—he didn't smell or nothing!"

"Wait… for… it…"

"Took him right off the couch. It ain't right, I tell you. You can't take a woman's husband just because he's dead!"

Nikki's eyes widened in confusion while Erin hid a smile.

"There it is," she hissed before speaking louder. "It's a damn shame, Mrs. Miranda. We'll take a look at your furnace now."

"Oh, yes. But first, come take a look at my fridge." They followed her into the kitchen, where she stopped in front of her fridge.

"What's wrong with it?" inquired Erin.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted you to see it. A Luna Freeze! These were all the rage when I was your age. They can last through a nuclear fallout!"

"Hey, I saw one of those when I came back into town!" Nikki gasped.

"Really? Where?"

"In the woods, at the bottom of a ravine."

Silence.

"So! Furnace?" Erin piped up, clapping her hands.

"Yes, yes! It's right in the basement!"

"We're going to be down there for a bit. Don't lock us in, please."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The last repairman I sent out here got locked down there."

"I assure you I did no such thing!"

"He called me from your basement."

"Well, your man did smell a bit of  _booze_  when he came by."

"We're heading down now." The two twenty-year-olds descended into the basement, Nikki peering around curiously as they approached the furnace.

"It looks like it has a little face!" Nikki commented.

"Yep."

"I've decided his name is Clanky."

"Okay. I'm going to take a look back here. You stay where you are and don't touch anything."

"But I can help!"

"Nikki…"

"Yes?"

"Nothing you say will make me allow you to touch this furnace." Nikki pouted.

"This should only take a few minutes." Erin disappeared around the back and Nikki took a look at the front.

She then walked around the basement, picking up a garden gnome, fishing pole, tennis racket, and a small fan. Each item was placed on the front of the furnace. Stepping back, Nikki smiled as she admired her work and rubbed her hands together, preparing to test out the solution she'd so carefully thought out before putting it together.

"Okay, done." Erin emerged from behind the furnace.

"Aw, already?" whined Nikki. Erin looked at Nikki's solution and raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do?"

"I engineered an elegant, long-term solution!"

The entire thing fell apart.

"Goddammit."

"Wow, Nikki. Do me a favor and never try to take care of anything again. Like, don't even have a pet."

Nikki pouted again as she gave one last longing look to the items she'd collected before following Erin to the basement door. Erin reached out and tried to turn the knob. No luck. They were locked in, just like the guy Erin had sent out before to try and fix the furnace. The blue-haired girl started hammering on the door with her fist to try and get Mrs. Miranda's attention.

"Shit! We're locked in!"

"I'm going to try and find a way out." Erin kept banging on the door, while Nikki gave another look around the basement.

_The only thing she_ **could** _hear was the furnace, but that was when it was broken. It has to be broken again and we'll get out._

A baseball bat was leaning against a wall. Immediately, Nikki ran for it and picked it up. A smile crossed her face and Erin caught sight of her.

"Nikki, what are you doing?"

"I'm using the one tool I  _do_  know how to use: a tool for beating ass!"

She rushed Clanky (poor guy) and started smacking it with the bat. It was some of the loudest noise she'd ever heard in her entire life, especially once it was  _sufficiently_  broken enough to start roaring like it had before they'd came. Erin covered her ears, gritting her teeth to try and block out the sound.

"That's pretty loud! I'm surprised I can't hear it back in town!"

Footsteps approached the door.

"Okay, she's coming. Hey, Mrs. Miranda, you locked us in!"

* * *

Erin stared out at Mrs. Miranda's yard, cigarette hanging from her mouth. Nikki was sitting next to her, swinging her legs and humming.

"She was pretty nice about the whole thing," Nikki pointed out.

"Yeah."

"She gave us lemonade!"

"Mm-hmm."

"You not like lemonade?"

"No, I'm just… thinking."

"You need like, some magical shit to make you happy."

"Well, when you find it, be sure to let me know."

Nikki stood up and went out into the yard. Erin took another drag from her cigarette and sighed. She really hated house calls, particularly when it came to Mrs. Miranda. The old woman was nice—really, she was—but she was scatterbrained and elderly. That was why she had a tendency to lock her basement rather than her front door. She was grateful that Nikki had come along, making a very boring routine more entertaining.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, Erin looked around her to see fireflies. Nikki was standing there, smiling broadly as the insects flew around them. Erin couldn't help but smile in response as one landed on her arm.

"Nikki, how did you…?"

"I found some magical shit to make you smile!"

"That you did." Erin gave her a look. "You're an interesting person, Nikki Morrison."

"Granddad used to say that being interesting was all you could hope to be."

"That's true. He's right. This evening wouldn't have been as exciting if you hadn't been along for the ride."

"See? I'm good to have around."

"I mean, you can certainly beat the shit out of a furnace."

"I can beat the shit out of anything."

"You should, like, channel all that aggression you always have into something useful."

"Eh. Doctor Hank said way back that I needed to repress it."

" 'Repress'? Not like, 'learn to deal with it'?"

"He  _specifically_  said repress."

"Hm."

They were silent for a moment.

"So, do you think Mrs. Miranda pulled all her husband's guts out? Isn't that what you do for mummies?"

"I dunno, Nikki."

"Do you think you'd have the stomach for it?"

"Nope."

"It probably took a lot of heart."

"Yep."

"I wish she would ex-spleen it to us."

"I get it, Nikki."

"She really rectum!"

"Okay, that probably stayed in place."

"Yeah. That should stay where it be-lungs!"

"I'm leaving." Erin got up and started walking towards her car.

"Hey! You gotta liver your life!"

"Bye. This is me gone."

"Hey! Wait up!" Nikki ran after her.

"You're walking back to town."

"You've got a lot of gall to say that!"

"I'm calling the cops."

And thus ended the beginning of Nikki and Erin's rebuilding of their friendship. All it took was a scatterbrained old lady, a furnace, a baseball bat, and some fireflies. But it was a beginning that they desperately needed, and one that they wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon. Unless, of course, something far more memorable and terrifying happened, but what were the odds of  _that_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An important note to make about this story is that I'm actually varying between my own dialogue and taking dialogue straight from the game itself. Some things are things that were written by me; both of David's dusk star stories are based off actual short stories I've written in the past. In fact, one is being written into a novel. Other things, such as the body puns at the end of the chapter, were taken directly from the game.
> 
> While not everything that happened in the game will happen in this story, I'm going to try and fit in my personal favorite hangouts. Stuff like the Mrs. Miranda bit, the knife fights, and the heaviest hangout in the game (endgame spoilers) will be put into this story. I love these characters and I want to do more with my Angus character than they actually did in the fucking game.
> 
> In other news, while I was working on this chapter, somebody actually copy-pasted my story and replaced Nikki with Max. I'm not going to name a name (they know who they are), but it has been dealt with. The person who did it took down their story after I calmly messaged them like the adult I am. I honestly appreciate when we can all do things like adults on the Internet because it doesn't happen often enough.
> 
> So long and thanks for all the fish!


End file.
